Full Circle
by OrbitZero
Summary: AU. OoT. Link always thought he was just a typical Hylian kid. But when the Princess of Hyrule tells him about her premonitions, he is about to learn he's anything but normal. History repeats itself, and everything comes full circle to begin again
1. Chapter 1

First venture into the Legend of Zelda fandom. The game rights don't belong to me. Sheik is his own person in this fanfic, and I do realize that he is Zelda in the game, so don't worry about that. This is non-yaoi. Only other warnings are, I suppose AU, language and later on there may be some graphic violence. I hope you enjoy it. Tell me what you think!

Full Circle

One

The wind in your hair, the thrill of the speed, darting across the open road...

A fantastic bit of fun, really. And I'm not talking about driving, either. Horses. Yeah, riding horses. I know that's not exactly the common method of transportation anymore, but I'm not old enough to drive yet, and have to get my thrills somewhere. I will be old enough in about a year, and even then, I have to have an adult with me while I have my permit. And being an orphan, that's kind of difficult.

My name is Link. Yeah, I know, what a ridiculously common name(1). I was born fifteen years ago(2). I never knew my parents. I was abandoned in Kokiri Forest, for whatever reason. I guess my parents must've been pretty messed up to leave an infant in the middle of a forest where all kinds of harm could come to it, but eh, shit happens. I made it, so I guess there's no real reason to dwell on that. I got lucky, and was found by some people camping out there. They took me back to Kakariko though, so I had more of a chance of survival.

I lived in an orphanage in the city of Kakariko, which was the biggest city in all of Hyrule. It was a huge change from the forest, that's for sure. Here, there were few trees, and tall buildings scraped against the sky. It was a crowded place.

The orphanage was full of abandoned kids, like me. Or some of them were there because their parents died, and no one wanted to take them in. That must be terrible, to have relatives who don't even want you. Most of the kids were nice, ranging in age anywhere from toddlers to eighteen years of age. After that, you were able to leave, but were given enough time to try to get your act together before living out there on your own. Some of the kids were angry or scared, especially the newbies. It's understandable though. It's kind of jarring, being here at first, losing your parents and all of that, but you move on, eventually. I can't talk though, I guess; I didn't have anything to really move on from.

I knew most of the kids there, but there were too many to know them all. Most of them were just acquaintances, but I liked making them all feel like they were good friends. It helps to have a friend in a place like this, I figure, and want people to know that I'll be there for them if they need me.

The only person I was really, really good friends with there, though, was a guy named Sheik. He was two years older than me, but I was already about his height. He was really quiet, kind of sarcastic. But he was a good friend, and we always hung out together, finding something to go do when we were bored. Not a whole lot of people liked him, and I think I might be his only friend. Most of it probably has to do with his poor people skills. He wasn't shy, he was just sarcastic and bluntly honest about his opinions.

The rest of it probably has to do with his bizarre red eyes.

He isn't albino or anything; in fact, he's pretty tan, and has very black hair(3). Just the iris of his eyes are a deep, dark red instead of something normal like blue or brown. Everyone stayed away from him because of it, and from what gossip I heard, people thought he was evil or a demon or something. I felt kind of bad for him, but at the same time, he didn't seem to care too much. He said being a freak "filters out the stupid, useless people" and leaves him with honest people like me. It was flattering, I guess.

He was orphaned when he was young, too. He made up outlandish stories all of the time when people asked what happened to his parents, just to see how gullible they were, so I can't honestly say I know how he was orphaned. I wonder, though, if his parents have those weird red eyes, too. Or maybe they didn't, and thought he was too weird. Could that be why they left him? I couldn't bring myself to ask him stuff like that, plus, he might not even give a real answer anyway.

We both worked on a ranch outside of town. That's why I was riding the horse, by the way. Her name was Epona, and Talon, the owner of the ranch, told me he liked how well I rode her, and that I might be able to keep her some day. That'd be awesome. I don't know where I'd keep a horse, though.

I was racing Sheik right now, just around one of the corrals. Yeah, we should've been mucking out stables, but...well...let's say we were on break.

Epona was fast. We had the advantage of being on the inside of the track, and were hugging the bends tightly. The finish line was the gate of the corral, which was coming up fast right around this last bend. I spurred Epona on, and she gave forth one last bolt of energy and we jumped out ahead of Sheik and his horse.

"Ha!" I exclaimed. "Won _again._"

We dismounted our horses, ready to lead them back to their stables, when we were met with the angry(and ugly) face of Ingo, the co-owner of the ranch along with Talon. Behind him, a young girl stood with a few other people, who all looked kind of dressed up to be at a ranch.

"_What _do we _hire _you for?!" Ingo shouted, flailing his arms animatedly as he did so. "Certainly not to tire out the horses! Or risk injuring them with your _stupid_ antics! Wait until Talon hears about this. You boys'll be fired so fast your head'll spin!" He paused for a second, then turned around to face the young, golden-haired girl, and said, "I do apologize for all this, your highness, it's just these dumb boys-!"

"It's all right," she replied in a soft voice. She looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place where I'd seen her.

"Well if you'll follow me, I'll show you to the stables and you can review the horses..." Ingo's voice trailed off as he lead the group of people inside the stables. I watched all of them go in-a few tall guys in suits, and a white-haired woman as well. The only other girl in the group, actually.

"'Your highness'?" I repeated, glancing at Sheik as I took up Epona's reins. Then it hit me, and I realized why the girl looked so familiar. "That was Princess Zelda."

"And the last horse finishes the race," Sheik announced, smirking at me. "Come on. They went in the stables, we might be able to catch them still."

We led the tired horses in, getting them back in their empty stalls. I searched the area, and spotted the group admiring one of the horses as Ingo talked. He was trying to sell Zelda a horse. I turned away for a minute to remove the tack, but when I was finished they'd moved on down the line, now gathered at the stall Sheik was in.

"And this one is pure bred Gerudo," I heard Ingo saying, indicating the grey horse Sheik had been riding.

"I'm actually Hylian, but I can't guarantee I'm pure bred," Sheik replied, brushing through his horse's main.

I heard Zelda giggle quietly, and smiled. It was a pretty sound. Not obnoxious or anything, just a melodious little noise.

"Who do you think you are!" Ingo shouted. "No one was talking to you!"

"He's free to speak," Zelda said firmly. "Are you really Hylian?" She had her attention on Sheik now. "Your eyes tell me otherwise, and your dark skin and hair."

"What do they tell you then?" Sheik asked, smiling coyly. I felt a pang of jealousy as he flirted with her like that. He's told me before he isn't even interested in having any kind of relations with women, but he still seemed to like leading them on.

"They tell me you have Sheikah blood in you, somehow," Zelda said. "Which could also account for your name."

"It has been thousands of years since the last Sheikah lived, so you may want to take a picture to send to the tabloids, because only they would believe you, my lady," Sheik said sarcastically. I held my breath, thinking someone was going to hit him or something.

"Mind who you're speaking to, boy," the white-haired female said, speaking up for the first time. "Or you'll be punished for your insolence."

Sheik looked startled. I've been trying and trying for years to do that, but this lady somehow managed to do it just by threatening him? What gives?

Then I noticed how she did it as they turned to come down to my stable. The woman with the white hair had red eyes, too. I had to stop from staring, so I started brushing out Epona's white main.

"This one," Ingo started, "is actually the prize of Lon Lon Ranch." He glared at me, daring me to make a witty comment like Sheik had. I was about to, because he really set me up for it, but I liked having this job, and refrained. Instead I smiled at the princess, who smiled back before looking away. That was a good thing, right? "She's quick, but wild," Ingo continued. "Just needs to be broken in."

"Wasn't your stablehand riding this one when we came in?" Zelda asked.

"Oh, but..uh..he wasn't riding her _right_," Ingo sputtered, not wanting to look as incompetent as he actually was.

"He wasn't thrown from the horses back, so he must've been doing something right," Zelda challenged. She looked at me again, a ghost of a smile on those pretty lips of hers. "What's your name?"

"Link," I replied. "And her name's Epona. She's Hylian, too. She is sort of wild." I hated admitting Ingo was right. "But she just has to warm up to you, is all."

I watched as Zelda reached out and hesitantly patted Epona on the nose. "She's very pretty. But I think this horse is yours. She chose you," Zelda said with a smile. "I could not take her from you."

I returned her smile sheepishly, scratching the back of my blond head. "Heh, well thanks. I do like her a lot, and I wouldn't want to see you get hurt because she'll throw you if she doesn't know you." I realized I was starting to ramble like an idiot, and shut up.

I watched as Ingo lead the group down to the next horse. Zelda glanced back at me one last time, and her attention was back on the horses. Sheik sidled up next to me, leaning on the door of the stall. "Smooth," he whispered.

"Like a baby's bottom," I replied.

"If the baby was put through a cheese grater, perhaps."

"Come on," I said, ignoring him. "We should probably start mucking out the stables." We headed over to the first stall, picked up our rakes and shovels, and got down to work.

* * *

1-I figure that Link would become a popular name due to the events of Ocarina of Time. I think in one of the games a bunch of Gorons are named Link, or it is mentioned that they are, so I could see the same thing happening with Hylians and other races.

2-I made Link, Sheik, and Zelda two years younger than they were in the game to compensate for the seven years in which Link was asleep and Zelda in hiding. That and the fact that I'd always pictured Sheik as being older than them, and needed a way for him to still be living with Link in the orphanage. --

3-In another fic I'm working on. the Sheikah are dark haired as well as dark skinned. Zelda's presence is the reason for his lighter hair color in the events of OoT. In my little ficverse, of course, not canon.


	2. Chapter 2

Part two! Thanks for everybody who has read it. Feel free to leave some reviews too! Once again, no warnings really, save the language and AU thing. By the way, I kept the same names for everyone and all of the locations just for simplicity's sake. There are so many characters in the series, I didn't want everybody to have to take stabs at who was who.

Full Circle

Two

"I wonder why that woman had red eyes, too," I said out loud, knowing it was on Sheik's mind. He wouldn't talk about it, though, so I had to.

"Genetic defect," he replied bluntly. "That's all it is. Like kids born with extra limbs or something."

"Yeah but she had tan skin like you, too," I argued. "Not as tan as Gerudos, but more than any Hylian I've ever seen."

"Genetic defect," he repeated.

"Eh, I still think there could be some grain of truth to that Sheikah thing Zelda was talking about," I stated. "She was real smart. Real sweet, too."

"Oh, god, don't tell me you're going to start pining away for her," Sheik snapped. "Throw rocks at her window. Climb her trellis. Slip her love letters. "

"I was just saying she seems like a nice person," I replied, wondering why he was pissed off all of a sudden. I paused for a minute, and then asked, "Do you like her or something?"

"Love is a complete waste of time," Sheik said, glancing at me. "So, no, she's all yours, and the rest of the legions of lovestruck Hylians vying for a place on the throne."

I ignored that last part, and asked, "Why would love be a complete waste of time? If anything I think it helps make life worth living. Sharing love with someone, loving your work...loving your life."

He rolled his red eyes. "Love is nothing but a name we applied to a chemical reaction that goes on within the brain. The body eventually builds up a tolerance for the product of the reaction-'love'-and so, it's a waste of time to make the effort to try to find 'love' when the body will just eventually get used to it and feel just like it did before you set out to find 'love' to begin with."

Well. When he put it that way... "There's more to love than that," I said, knowing how this argument would end. If you didn't have cold, hard facts to back up your assertion, then Sheik didn't want to hear about it. He didn't pursue the argument further, apparently realizing the same thing.

We were finishing our walk back home from the bus stop. To get to Lon Lon Ranch, we took two buses: one near the orphanage to a bus to the edge of town, and from there to the small town the ranch was in. I guess we could both have jobs closer to home that didn't require us spending money on bus fare, but I'd rather work with the horses than do some minimum wage register job.

I shrugged off my warm jacket as we entered the orphanage. It was cold out, now that the sun was going down. It was fall, so that meant stormy weather and chilly nights in Kakariko. I didn't mind the weather though.

"Hey, Link, wait," I heard someone calling. I turned around to find the source of the voice, and saw Miko, a kid who had a job with the mailing office. He was approaching me and Sheik. We never really got mail, though. I knew him on a first-name basis simply because I talked to...well, everyone.

"Hey, Miko," I said, smiling. "What's up?"

"Got a letter here for both of you," he said, flipping through a few envelopes. He finally settled on two white ones somewhere in the middle of the stack, and handed the first to me. The second he handed to Sheik.

"Really?" I asked, a little surprised. I thought at first it was just some kind of spam mail. But as I looked down at the neat script in the upper left-hand corner of the envelope, I had to do a double take. It was from Hyrule Castle. I laughed at first. "This is some kind of prank, right?"

Miko wasn't laughing, but said, gravely serious, "Fiddling with the mail is a federal offense." He turned on his heel and left, leaving me and Sheik to exchange looks at that statement.

"Why the hell would we get mail from Hyrule Castle?" I wondered out loud.

"Because Princess Zelda would like to invite us both to a dinner party on Thursday, October the fifth at 18:00," Sheik said, reading off the letter. Like I should've done instead of asking what it was for.

"Seriously?" I asked, completely mystified as to why we of all people were invited to dine with royalty. Two scroungy orphans, picked by the princess herself to come eat dinner at the castle? No way. This had to be a joke.

"Yes, seriously," Sheik repeated, exasperated.

I opened my own letter, and began to read over it to make sure it said the same thing. In neat, cursive print, it read:

_Link, _

_Princess Zelda of Hyrule wishes to personally extend an invitation to attend a dinner party on the 18th hour of Thursday, October the Fifth, at Hyrule Castle. Please be advised that this is a formal event, and appropriate clothing is required for entry. The Princess wishes to notify you that you will be reimbursed for the purchase of formal clothing should you not have your own._

_ Sincerely,_

_ Talma_

_ Hyrule Castle Secretary_

The seal of the king was stamped on the letter for authenticity. I kept reading the letter over and over, looking for the joke that undoubtedly flew right over my head. But I couldn't find anything at all. So, I grinned widely.

"This is real!" I exclaimed, folding the letter back up.

"Indeed," Sheik said.

"Are you going to go? Oh, who am I kidding, you have to go, because it's the friggin' Princess of Hyrule inviting you!" I said, laughing with excitement.

"I don't really have much of an interest in formal events such as this..." Sheik muttered.

"Aw, come on, Sheik! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity! You have to go!" I insisted. "No way I'm passing it up."

Sheik was silent for a minute, lost in thought. Then finally, he rolled his eyes and sighed. "Well, I'll have to go to make sure you don't make an idiot out of yourself and lose your chance with the Princess."

"I won't make an idiot-" I started, stopping short when I realized what he was implying. "Hey! I don't have a 'chance' with her. She's just nice, that's all."

Sheik smirked, knowing he'd struck a nerve. "All right. Lover boy." He sauntered down the hall way, leaving me to glare daggers at his back.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to those of you who have reviewed. And to those of you who are reading. Don't be shy; tell me what you think so far! Good, bad, whatever, it all works for me. Hope you're liking it so far.

Full Circle

Three

Thursday night. I feel like I'm about to throw up from nervousness. Sheik and I were both dressed nicely in some suits we managed to find in a thrift store. It's usually kind of hard to find something that fits you right, but I guess we lucked out. I even brushed my hair real nice, and what's more, managed to persuade Sheik to do the same. Okay, it wasn't slicked back or real nice or anything, but it was different from our usually tangled and messy mops.

Both of us felt really uncomfortable in the suits. It wasn't something either of us were used to. The suits weren't stiff, considering they'd been worn, and they weren't real formal. But they looked nice, and I hoped they would do well enough. I couldn't wear my cap, obviously, so I felt even more out of place.

I'd get over it, though. After all, how many kids get to say they ate dinner with the Princess of Hyrule?

The two of us were trying to blend in with the high society aristocrats, and the general air of snobbishness was suffocating. I glanced at some of the other men there, ranging anywhere from mid-twenties to late fifties, observing their behavior. Think of it as a crash course in high-society manners. I was standing up straight, hands in my pockets for lack of anything better to do with them.

We were standing alone, sort of away from everyone else. A few of the high class folks came by and greeted us, which was nice of them. Sheik insisted that they only did it to keep up appearances, but either way, at least they took the time to talk to us.

"Why'd she even invite us if she isn't going to be around?" Sheik asked, inspecting a split end in the hair hanging in his face. He started pulling it apart. He didn't care too much about making a good impression, I guess.

"She'll show up," I insisted. "All of these people are here for the king. I'm sure she'll show up with him."

Just as if the world wanted to prove me right, someone made the announcement of the arrival of the King and Princess of Hyrule. I watched as everyone bowed, and did the same. The King was an older man with gray hair and a stern, serious face. His eyes weren't bright and blue, like Zelda's. He was wearing a nice, black suit as he greeted the party goers individually and each by name.

I was much more interested in Zelda, though, who was completely beautiful in a white dress and matching gloves, her golden-brown hair left to flow down her back loosely, save for two braids to keep her long bangs out of her face. Her blue eyes met mine, and she smiled at me before having to turn away with her father to greet more people.

"And you say you don't have it in for her," Sheik commented, observing the whole thing. I guess I was staring a little. Okay, a lot.

"All right," I admitted. "I'll admit it. She's beautiful. Stunning. Amazing."

"Well," Sheik said, swirling a flute of champagne he'd snagged from a passing waiter, watching the pale liquid bubble and spin,"here is your chance to admit it to her _and _her father."

I sputtered for a second, searching frantically for them. The king met us first, hand extended in my direction. "Hello, Link," he said, smiling. I was surprised he knew my name. How does a guy remember all of this stuff? "Zelda told me all about you after returning from the stables."

"Thank you," I managed, unsure if that was the right way to respond.

But he was already moving on to Sheik, extending his hand again. "Hello, Sheik," he said. Sheik left the man's hand to hang in the air, staring at it waveringly. The king looked a little confused, before Sheik started to talk.

"I'm afraid I can't," he said dramatically. Well, dramatic if you knew what to look for. "I was born without an immune system, and that is the cause for my discolored eyes...If I ever touch another human, I may risk death by viral or bacterial infection. Even from such simple and momentary contact as a hand shake. The hands are one of the dirtiest parts of the human body, after the mouth, of course."

The king looked a little more confused, glancing at Zelda, who looked equally confused. I, however, was glaring at Sheik over the royal pair's shoulders, willing him to shut up. He saw me, and only returned an innocent look.

"Well," the king said, trying to bow gracefully out of this conversation and get away from the weird red eyed kid. "I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you stay well." He took that opportunity to move onto the next group of people to greet.

"_What _are you _doing_?!" I whispered as soon as Zelda and her father were out of earshot. "Lying to _the king?!_"

"Your observational skills are top notch," Sheik remarked, a playful smile on his face. When he finally noticed that I wasn't at all in a mood for games, he faltered a little. "It was just a bit of fun."

"What is fun about lying to people about stupid things like that?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"It's interesting to see how much people will believe without questioning you," he replied.

I sighed, defeated. "I guess I can see that, but did you really have to lie to the king?"

"Wouldn't you want to know if the ruler of the land you live in is completely gullible?"

"Well...yeah. But still. It's not nice. Besides, he probably didn't believe you anyway."

Sheik snorted.

"Are you enjoying yourselves?" The melodic voice cut through the air suddenly, and I turned away from Sheik to see Zelda standing beside me again. She must've finished her rounds with her father already, or at least managed to get away from him long enough to come back to us.

I smiled immediately, and nodded. "I couldn't thank you enough for inviting us. I mean, it was real nice of you."

"Why us?" Sheik asked, cutting to the chase. I would've asked eventually. He was just so impatient.

"You both...remind me of someone," she said, as if searching for the right words. "I'd like to get to know you a little better. To simply ask you a few things about yourselves."

"Of course," I replied.

"What kinds of things?" Sheik pressed.

"Just about your past. Where you grew up. If you knew your parents. Among other things," she said.

Sheik looked skeptical, but didn't say anything.

"Ask away," I offered, a big smile on my face.

"Princess Zelda!"

I wanted to roll my eyes and sigh. How many times were people going to come up to us so unexpectedly? Instead, I just let my smile shrink a little as I found the source of this new, deep voice. It was a dark-skinned guy with a clean-shaven face and fiery orange hair. A Gerudo. He must've been royalty; from what I remembered of my studies in school, Gerudos only have a male every hundred years or so, and he is appointed king by default. It was more of an ancient tradition than anything.

He was a real big guy though. Tall, broad shoulders, thick with, I'm assuming, muscle. He was walking towards us, a glass of wine in his hand. He was smiling at the Princess.

"Lord Ganondorf," Zelda replied, curtsying a little. She looked happy to see him, but I felt like it was a ruse. Like she just had a part to play and it involved being happy to see this guy Ganondorf. "I trust you're doing well?"

"Of course!" He let out a polite laugh, even though nothing was really funny. "And yourself?"

"Just fine."

He glanced at Sheik and I, and raised his eyebrows. "Who are these two fine gentlemen?" he asked, gesturing to us with his hand..

"Friends of mine," she replied.

"I'm Link," I said, offering my hand to him. He took it, shaking it firmly.

"Nice to meet you, Link," he said. His eyes never left my face, and it made me feel like I was a project being studied. It was weird, to say the least. "Where are you from?"

"I'm Hylian, just from Kakariko," I replied.

"Ah, Kakariko. Nice city, beautiful," Ganondorf commented. He reminded me of the way business men were portrayed on television shows. "And you?" He turned his eyes to Sheik, who had been keeping quiet.

"Sheik," he responded.

"Sheik, huh?" Ganondorf remarked, smiling a little. "Parents must've been fond of that old tribe, the Sheikah, eh?"

"I wouldn't know."

The conversation was interrupted by the sound of ringing, and Ganondorf's hand went to his side where a phone was strapped to his belt. He glanced at the screen, and held a finger up to all of us. "It's been a pleasure meeting you both, but I'm afraid I'll have to take this," he said. "Have a good evening."

"You too," Zelda replied quickly.

He started walking away from us, pieces of his conversation floating back to us. "...find a way to make it work...If the deal doesn't go through, heads are going to roll..."

"Let's take a walk, shall we?" Zelda said, looking first at me, then Sheik, and then finally glancing back at Ganondorf.

"Sure," I replied. We followed her out of the crowded room, and into the empty halls.


	4. Chapter 4

Once more, thank you to everyone reading, and those who have reviewed so far. Don't be shy...tell me what you think!

Full Circle

Chapter Four

Sheik and I followed Zelda through the halls of the castle idly. To say the place was huge would've been an understatement. I gazed at the walls, which were covered in ancient preserved tapestries and paintings depicting various battles or myths. Being here was completely surreal.

"There generally isn't anyone wandering the halls during parties and other formal events such as the one going on tonight," she explained. "We should be free to speak uninterrupted out here."

"What did you want to know, ma'am?" I asked, curious as to what she wanted to know about us, and why. It had to be something a little more than us reminding her of some people she knew. I mean, she saw us for all of what, ten? Fifteen minutes?

"You may both simply call me Zelda," she replied. "The title doesn't really mean a whole lot to me." She paused to take one last look around the empty hallway. "I want you both to tell me about your past. Who your parents were, if you knew them. How you got to Kakariko."

"Well," I started, thinking hard about what to say. "I never knew my parents, so I can't tell you who they were. I know they left me in that old forest, Kokiri, which is weird. I guess they weren't really fit to be parents anyway. I got lucky and a couple of campers found me, and brought me to Kakariko's orphanage. I grew up there."

She nodded, and then turned her attention to Sheik. I silently prayed he wouldn't make up some ridiculous story, and just tell the truth for once. "What about you, Sheik?" she asked.

"I, also, never knew my parents," he began. "Not due to abandonment, but because they traveled everywhere, all over Hyrule. The last I heard of them, they had been hiking Death Mountain and were caught in the wreckage of one of the minor tremors which so often happen there..." I put a hand to my face and groaned quietly.

"How unfortunate for both of you," Zelda said sincerely.

"Things happen," I said. "We both turned out all right. Well, I did, anyway." I glanced at Sheik, who wore a look of mock hurt.

"If I told you something, would either of you think I was crazy for it?" she asked distractedly, as if her mind was somewhere else.

"If it is a crazy thing to tell, then yes," Sheik replied.

"No," I said, shooting a look at Sheik, a little peeved. I wanted Zelda to know she could trust us. "You can tell us. We won't laugh or make fun of you or anything."

She hesitated at first, and then finally decided to speak. "It is about that man. Ganondorf. What did you two think of him?"

"I don't really know him or anything. But for a Gerudo, he was nice, I guess." That didn't feel right, for some reason, admitting that this Gerudo guy was 'nice'. "He _seemed_ nice," I said, emphasizing the 'seemed' part to show how I wouldn't be too surprised if I were completely wrong.

"I didn't like him," Sheik said simply. "All that enthusiasm seemed more like a show. There's no sincerity. Why?"

"I just wondered if anyone else felt the same way I did. I've voiced my concerns of Ganondorf's true character to my father, but he thinks I'm just being childish. My nanny-that is, my guardian-Impa, the woman with the white hair you saw at the ranch the other day, she believes me, and doesn't trust the man at all. Never has. But...she has a slight bias towards Gerudos for some reason." Zelda sighed quietly, looking utterly dejected. I wanted to give her a hug and tell her to cheer up or try to make her feel better somehow. But that probably would've been a little inappropriate to do to a princess without permission from somebody. "There's more to it than just a feeling, though," she continued. "I...this is the part I'm unsure of. It may sound very silly. But it just feels so important, so _real_. Like I can't ignore it."

"What is it?" I asked, concerned.

"I've been having these dreams lately," she began. "I can see dark clouds that rapidly rise out of the west-the desert-and they are covering all of Hyrule. At first, I despair, thinking that everything is lost, that Hyrule will be destroyed. But then a light comes out of the forest, cutting away the dark clouds, and there is a young boy in old-fashioned green clothing, a fairy with him, and he bears an emerald."

"You think that Ganondorf, or some other Gerudo, will somehow try to harm Hyrule?" Sheik asked, brows furrowed.

"At first, I did not. I wrote it off as a particularly unsettling dream. But it came back, over and over. Finally, I tried my best to do some research about the stone in my dream, and found that it is the Kokiri Emerald, the very one on display in the museum in Kakariko. I managed to find some very old texts on it, and found that people used to believe that it was one of three stones necessary to open the way to the Sacred Realm."

"The Sacred Realm?" Sheik asked, becoming skeptical again. "Don't tell me you believe in those ancient myths about the goddesses and the Triforce?"

"Hey, let her finish," I said, and turned my attention back to Zelda's story.

"While researching the Emerald, I found one text that told an old story which struck a nerve. It was so similar to my dream, almost exact. It told of a boy and a fairy who came from the forest with the Kokiri Emerald to see the Princess of Hyrule. She sent him on a quest to retrieve the two other stones, because she had a premonition about a Gerudo man who she believed was using her father to get to the stones, and the Triforce."

"That is really strange," I remarked. "That's just like your dream, about the kid from the forest. And then if you put Ganondorf in the place of the Gerudo guy..." The proverbial light bulb lit up over my head, and I asked, "Do you think he's trying to deceive your father to get something out of him? Maybe to take the throne?"

Zelda nodded. "The story continued on, saying that the young princess had been right, and when she and the forest boy opened the way to the Sacred Realm with the Ocarina of Time, the Gerudo man tried to take the Triforce. However, he only received the element of power from it. But, even with that one piece, he was able to overthrow Hyrule, and send it into a dark age for seven years while the boy slept in the Sacred Realm, cut off from the world. When he awoke, he was met with a man who claimed to be the last living Sheikah. He guided the boy, now a man, to all five of the sacred temples in Hyrule to free the Sages, who would then go on to seal the evil Gerudo man away." She paused, giving us time to take in the story. "I believe that man wants more than the throne. He is after the Triforce."

Sheik shook his head immediately. "It isn't possible. The Triforce is not real. It's just an ancient myth."

"It's a pretty big coincidence, her dream and how it lead her to that story," I argued. "What if it's some kind of warning?"

Sheik sighed, irritated. "You're chasing fantasies, both of you," he insisted. "There is no Triforce. While I may accept and believe that Ganondorf is after your father's throne, I do not believe he is the sort to look for ancient treasures or what have you. "

Suddenly, something occurred to me that hadn't before. Something that I didn't quite understand just yet. "Zelda," I started. "Why did you pick us, of all people, to tell all of this to?" She had to have some reason for it. After all, she got those invitations out to us pretty quick, as if she couldn't pass up the opportunity that the dinner party presented her with.

At first, she didn't respond. She was wringing her hands, stressing the soft fabric of the white gloves. "I...I think, when I saw the two of you, there was something so familiar about you both. I couldn't place it at first. But then..." She stood up, and looked at both of us. "Come with me, and I'll show you."

Without waiting for us to respond, she hurried inside again. Sheik and I hesitated, exchanging glances, but caught up with her quickly. She lead us through the castle, tuning out our questions and comments. She just kept walking down the quiet halls, until we came to a large room with rows and rows of books. There were books of all shapes and sizes and conditions all over the place. A lot of them looked like they would turn to dust if you were to touch them.

She moved through the library expertly, knowing exactly where she was headed. She pulled out a large, thin book, and set it on a nearby table. Sheik and I both gathered around it. The title read _Ancient Hylian Art_. She opened it, flipping past a few paintings and pictures of sculptures to finally stop on a certain one.

My mouth dropped open at the sight of it. At first, I didn't realize it, but every person in the painting was familiar. Near the top center of the page was a dark man, with long, fiery hair and fierce amber eyes. He wore heavy, black armor, with a long, tattered cape. His right hand was balled up into a fist, the back of his hand facing the viewer, showing a piece of the Triforce. The figure was standing in the top piece of a large Triforce. The beard and long hair threw me off, but if you looked hard enough, certain aspects of the man resembled Ganondorf a lot.

Next, just beneath the dark figure, was a thin, lithe guy with black hair and deep red eyes. He wore a blue, form-fitting uniform, with a piece of tattered white fabric over his chest. Painted on it was a symbol that looked kind of like an eye. His face was covered by a cowl. For the most part, he was covered head to toe. He had a short, thin blade of some kind in his hand. Those red eyes though, they reminded me a lot of Sheik's. The figure stood in the empty center of the Triforce.

The third figure I noticed was standing at the bottom left side of the image, in a pink and purple dress. She had golden brown hair and blue eyes. She held up a thin, gloved hand to reveal another piece of the Triforce on it. She stood in the bottom left piece of the large Triforce, and looked a hell of a lot like Zelda.

The fourth and final figure was impossible to mistake. He wore a green tunic and cap, and had blond, shaggy hair. In one hand he held a sword, and a shield was on his back. A fairy was beside his head. His unoccupied right hand was held up in a manner similar to the other two, bearing the last piece of the Triforce.

He looked just like me.

"That's-!" I cried out, unable to articulate my thoughts in a coherent sentence just yet.

"Power," Zelda said, pointing to the dark man. "Wisdom." Now she indicated the woman. "Courage." She touched the guy-me-in green. "And the Spy, Guardian, and Guide who helped all three," she said, referring to the man in the middle now.

"There has to be some sort of reasonable explanation for this," Sheik insisted. "It's the power of suggestion. We-You, I mean-wanted to believe that there was something connecting yourselves to that old story, and that is why you see yourselves in those figures."

"I don't think so, Sheik," I said quietly. "I think there is something real strange going on. Something dangerous is going to happen. And that guy Ganondorf is going to cause it all."


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you to everyone reading/reviewing!

Full Circle

Five

It happened fast, and Sheik was the first to react.

A barely audible 'twang' cut through the silence, and Sheik grabbed Zelda, pulling her aside as he twisted out of the path of a flaming arrow. I jumped back, feeling the heat of the flame as it passed. It sank into the book, and the flames began to eat away at the pages.

"No!" Zelda cried.

"Who's in here?" Sheik called out, scanning the dimly lit room for inhabitants. No one replied, and there was no noise to indicate anyone moving. But those rows of shelves could easily hide someone. A lot of someones.

"We have to get the fire out before it spreads to the other books," Zelda demanded. She hurried towards one of the large windows, where heavy drapes hung. "Help me!" I was at her side immediately, tugging them down. They fell with a loud clatter against the tiled floor. We began to drag it towards the table, where the fire was spreading way faster than could be considered natural.

Someone was helping it grow. How, though, is beyond me. There was no oil or gasoline anywhere around us. We would've smelled it or at least felt it. Everything was dry.

Suddenly, the sound of fluttering filled the room, and dozens of big, black bats were swarming us.

"Where did those come from?!" I shouted over the noise of the bats fluttering and screeching, shielding my face from their small claws and wishing I had my baseball cap on.

"Doesn't this place have a fire alarm?" Sheik asked loudly. "Or sprinklers at least!"

"No! They didn't want to risk the damage to the books! But there is a fire alarm...I don't know why it hasn't gone off!" Zelda replied as we threw the heavy drapery over the table. We were all beating at it, trying to suffocate the flames, but they were already spreading past the table, and down to the rug on the floor. Smoke was filling the room, and it was getting difficult to breath.

"The bats are flying into the fire," Sheik said suddenly. I looked up, watching as one of the bats flew through one of the larger flames, immediately catching fire, and continued flying around. They all were, as if they were supposed to..

"They're burning the books!" Zelda cried. And she was right; they all flew to different shelves, like they knew exactly what they were doing. Like they were on a mission.

Zelda broke away from trying to put out the flames, and started trying to save the books. She snatched up a small, worn paperback, which I couldn't read the title of through the smoke. She was about to reach out for another, when Sheik grabbed her by the wrist, and roughly pulled her back. "We need to get out of here before we suffocate!"

"No, I need the books," she replied. "My dream-Ganondorf, I can prove it, I just need the right books!"

"If you don't leave now, you'll be dead, and won't be reading anything," Sheik snapped. He kept a firm grip on her wrist, and was nearly dragging her out of the library. He looked at me, red eyes blazing in a way I'd never seen before. "Come on!" he demanded.

I figured I'd oblige.

When we pushed through the heavy doors, smoke billowed out into the hall with us. I collapsed to the ground, lungs burning. Sheik fell to his knees, bringing Zelda down with him. I heard voices all around us, but couldn't make out what they were saying just yet. I was coughing too much to hear anything.

After I managed to draw in fresh air and stop coughing, I took a look at the worried faces.

"Are you alright?"

"Do you need anything?"

"Are you hurt?"

"Can you breathe?"

"What happened?"

A flurry of questions, all of them directed at Zelda. We were a minor concern here. I understood, though. She was a princess, after all. But it was a lot of pressure to put on her, for them to bombard her with all of that after she just barely escaped being burned alive.

"I'm fine," she said quickly. "Please, someone, put the fire out! Save the books!"

"There is a team on the way, Princess," someone said.

"All right," a commanding voice rang out, cutting through the worried chatters of the castle drones. It was the white-haired lady, Impa. Zelda's guardian, I think she'd said. "Away. All of you. This is not a show. Get back to aiding in the evacuations." The group of attendants hesitantly left, muttering under their breaths. Impa looked at all of us one at a time, and sighed. "Are any of you hurt?" she asked, her soft tone belying her stern look.

"I think we're all fine, Impa," Zelda replied, getting to her feet.

"Yeah," I agreed.

Sheik nodded.

"Good," she said. "Now what were you doing to cause a fire that large?"

"It wasn't us," I replied first. "We were just looking at an art book, and a flaming _arrow_ came out of nowhere. We tried to put the fire out, but it spread real fast. Then these weird bats came in somehow, and actually flew into the fire! They spread it even more."

Impa raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Is that so?"

We all nodded.

"How much were the three of you drinking this evening?" she asked.

"It's all true, Impa!" Zelda cried. "Go, you'll see the bats. Just open the door."

Impa hesitated at first, and then looked at all three of us again. She walked across the hall, slowly opening the door to the library. She paused for a minute, looking inside the burning room, and suddenly cried out, ducking low as one of the bats flew out right over her head. She immediately slammed the door shut again, and spun around. A large, thin needle sliced through the air, and pinned the flaming bat to a door on the opposite side of the hall. Impa had thrown it. What a bizarre weapon to carry around.

The bat was pinned by its wing, and was flapping frantically, trying to get away. It beat its body against the door, getting rid of a lot of the flames on it.

"How did they get in here?" Impa demanded,

"We don't know," Sheik replied. "Perhaps a window was open...We were too distracted by the fire to notice."

Footsteps echoed down the long hallway, and we all looked up. It was the king. He rushed to Zelda, and held her dirty face in his hands. "Are you all right?" he asked worriedly, following us as Impa lead us out of the castle.

"Yes, I'm fine," she said quietly, turning to watch the library doors as more smoke poured out from the crack under them. She knew it was too late to save any of the books.

"Good," he said, pulling her into a hug. "They're trying to get the fire out now from the outside. I'm so glad you're safe." He turned to face us. "You two. You didn't do this, did you?"

The accusation sort of hurt.

"No," Impa replied. "It was not them." She pointed behind her to the bat on the door across the hall, which was hanging limply now, still smoldering.

The king squinted at it in confusion. "A bat? How did it get inside the library?"

"The library was already on fire when they came in," she explained, sounding much more rational than I had when I went through the story the first time. "They say a flaming arrow started the fire."

"An _arrow._ As in, with a bow?" the king asked, obviously not buying it. Even though it was completely true. I guess it was a little hard to believe, though. His voice began to rise as he got angrier. "I think if someone was going to assassinate someone, they wouldn't use a bow and arrow. And if they wanted to burn the castle down, they wouldn't use a bow and arrow!" He inhaled deeply, calming himself. "Both of you," he said, pointing to Sheik and I. "You've had your fun, now go. I won't have you arrested, but I don't want to see you around here again. And if I find out that I'm right, and either of you were involved in _any _of this in _any _remote, minute way, neither of you will see the light of day again."

"Father, they did not do anything!" Zelda protested. "Why are you treating them like criminals?"

She went ignored. "Come on, boys," Impa said, exasperated. But not at us, for whatever reason. "I'll show you out."

"I'm sorry," I heard Zelda whisper. Neither of us could respond, as Impa lead us to the gates.


	6. Chapter 6

Full Circle

Six

"What a weird night," I mumbled as we searched for a bus station. Castle Town wasn't really familiar to either of us, and it was difficult to find one, especially in the dark.

"Mm," Sheik replied.

"I mean, that whole fire thing...Not to mention that picture. It was like someone didn't want us to find it, you know?" I looked up at the night sky, trying to find the stars. They said in old stories that that was how travelers found their way home and stuff. I can't imagine how. They all look the same to me. "Do you think we'll ever see Zelda again?" I asked. Her dad seemed pretty pissed. And it wasn't like she was just any kid who could sneak out of her house and go do whatever she wanted.

"Doubtful," Sheik replied.

"That sucks," I muttered, returning my eyes to the sidewalk. "That Ganondorf guy-he's bad news, and I hate knowing that no one believes her but us. That no one who has the ability to help her will."

"While I can agree that he may _want _to take the throne, I highly doubt it could happen. The king is the most protected man in all of Hyrule...It'll take more than a Gerudo to do him in. And after that fire, you know his security is going to be doubled," Sheik said. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Maybe," I said. "I hope so, anyway."

We were both silent for awhile, and finally found a bus stop. It was getting late, but the buses still ran in Kakariko at this time of night. So they probably still did now in a similarly busy town. We'd have to walk from the next stop all the way to Kakariko though...We didn't exactly have the money for a cab or something.

"What did you think of that painting and the story about the Triforce?" I asked.

Sheik rolled his eyes. "The Triforce was an old world myth. Those same people thought a mask could make the moon fall from the sky, or that there is a world parallel to our own housing monsters made of darkness. The painting is just a coincidence. I mean, over thousands of years, _someone_ is bound to eventually resemble one of them."

"Yeah, but it wasn't just one of them. It was four near-perfect matches. And what if a mask could make the moon fall, or there are monsters made of darkness? What if those three stones she was talking about could open the way to the Triforce, and Ganondorf is after them? If that is what he is trying to get to, no one is going to stand in his way because nobody believes in it. What happens when he gets ahold of them, Sheik?" I challenged. "The world could be in a whole lot of danger, and the three of us are the only ones who know about it."

"Don't count me in with your delusional ideations, Link," he replied. "I don't think he'd do anything beyond murdering the king, which is a near-enough impossible task to begin with."

"I don't know..." I said. "Something just feels _wrong_."

"It's all in your head, Hero."

My head snapped up, and I looked at Sheik, brows drawn together in confusion. "What did you call me?"

Sheik cocked his head, and raised an eyebrow. "I called you 'Link'. Your _name._"

I sighed, and put my head in my hands. "I could've sworn you called me 'hero'."

He smirked. "Sounds like someone inhaled a little too much smoke..."

"Maybe you're right, Sheik. Maybe I am overthinking all of this stuff and it's just getting to me," I admitted, leaning back against the bench.

"Of course I'm right," he replied haughtily. "One of us has to be."

I grinned. "Must be terrible to bear such a burden." I stood up as the bus approached.

"Not at all, I quite enjoy it," he said. "I'd rather be no one else."

I laughed and shook my head. "Same here, Sheik."

The bus ride across the town took roughly another hour. We were dropped off just before the bridge, and had to walk the rest of the way home. We both knew it was shorter to walk straight from the bridge to Kakariko, so we left the road behind us. Hyrule Field wasn't exactly considered a dangerous place, anyway. At most, there were a few thieves hanging around, ready to jump some unsuspecting hikers or something. But we didn't have anything worth stealing anyway. There weren't a whole lot of trees; just plains. It got hilly as you headed towards Kakariko, because it was at the foot of Death Mountain. We were about halfway to the main road when the fun started up again.

And by fun I mean near-death experience.

Something ripped through the dirt and grass of the field beneath us, grabbing onto our legs. We both jerked ourselves out of its' wet, smelly hold, and turned to look at whatever it was.

Hands were reaching out of the ground. Not just regular Hyrulean hands, but rotten, bony hands. Dead hands.

"Holy _shit,_" Sheik whispered. I would've added some creative language of my own, but my mouth didn't want to work.

There were dozens of them, tearing out of the ground. They pulled themselves out of the dirt, hunched over and decomposing dead bodies. They looked like skeletons with a bit of spare skin hanging around. I wanted to puke from the sight. I don't even want to tell you what the smell made me want to do.

"Run!" I shouted when I managed to make my mouth move again. Sheik didn't have any objections, and took off.

The zombies made ambled after us, more popping out of the ground behind us. I could've sworn they were making some kind of noise-like short, deranged bursts of laughter. "They're laughing at us!" I shouted.

"By that stage of decomposition, their vocal chords are probably-"

"Sheik!" I cried sharply. "A dozen half-rotten bodies just rose up out of Hyrule Field and are chasing us, I don't think the stage of their decomposition matters!"

We kept running, finding the road soon enough. I glanced over my shoulder, and the zombies were still behind us. I could see headlights on the road ahead, and jumped in the air, waving my hands. "Hey!" I screamed. Sheik joined in, waving at the car and shouting. It sped by, not even bothering to slow down.

"That was certainly rude," I heard Sheik mumble between breaths.

Soon, there was another car, and we successfully flagged them down. The driver pulled over onto the shoulder, and rolled their window down. It was a Hylian. I think he owned the antiques shop in Kakariko. "Guys need a lift?" he asked.

"Crazy...zombies..following us," I panted, turning to point at the undead army. But they were gone. All of them, vanished. "Where..."

Sheik blinked a few times, and frowned.

Had they been illusions? Maybe some kind of reaction to the stress of the night? That had to be it. We were running from our own imaginations.

"Uh...you kids all right?" the man asked.

"He had a little too much to drink at a party, is all," Sheik said quickly. It was a pretty good save. I guess his lying comes in handy sometimes. "I'm a bit tipsy myself, which is why we need a ride into town, if you please."

The driver smiled knowingly, then said, "Sure, hop on in." I opened the door to the back seats. I hesitated, and glanced over my shoulder to the grass of the fields.

There was fresh, up-turned dirt on the ground.


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for everybody reading. Feel free to review.

Full Circle

Seven

The next day was a Friday, so even though we were both exhausted, we had to get up to go to school. You wouldn't believe the trouble I had sleeping. I'm sure Sheik did too. But even after school, we still had work. It kind of made me nervous, going out on the fields again. But at least we were in a vehicle this time. The day came and went without anymore weird problems.

On Saturday, I decided I wanted to go see these stones Zelda had spoken of the other night. She'd said they were on display at the museum, so I didn't see any reason not to go. Sheik rolled his eyes when I told him I was going. "You're really going to pursue this, aren't you?" he'd asked.

"I don't see the harm in it. Maybe I waste a little time, but I'll see some cool stuff and learn about Hyrule's history. So why not?" I returned.

He just shook his head.

He wouldn't be going with me to the museum, because he had to work again. We usually work together, but I have baseball practice on certain days, which gets me a day off of work. I'm kind of athletic, I guess. I just think the game is fun. Swinging that bat around to hit stuff, and then getting to run like a madman. It's great. Sheik wasn't much for team sports...or team anything. But he was in good shape. Whereas I'm a more, ah, 'solid' guy, Sheik's kind of thin and lithe. He's the sort of person you see up at ungodly hours of the morning jogging down the sidewalk. I don't think you could get me out of bed that early to go run.

I don't think you could get me out of bed that early to do _anything_.

We were opposites in a lot of ways, and it sort of amused me that we still managed to be such good friends. I kind of wondered sometimes why it happened, but maybe this is one of those times when there isn't a 'why'. I just remember the first time I met him, and thinking he was so weird, but not in a bad way like everybody else had. They thought he was scary. I thought he was interesting. At first, he'd only reply to me with sarcastic or spiteful remarks, but I guess he appreciated my persistence, because he eventually warmed up to me.

Well...warm is never a word to describe Sheik, but you get what I mean.

I strolled into the museum casually. I didn't know why, but I felt like I should look as casual as possible. Like someone might be watching me, so I had to make sure they didn't know I was here to see those stones specifically.

I started at the place any teenage guy would-the display of the ancient weaponry and armor. The old knights' uniforms were on display on wax figures. Those were recreations, of course. The few real pieces of armor they did have were sort of rusted. I looked over a row of swords hanging on the wall, protected by glass cases.

The one I saw next caught my eye real quick. It was a double-edged longsword, with a blue hilt. A Triforce was carved into the blade itself, and a dull yellow gem was embedded in the guard. It shone brightly, catching the sun coming in through the windows. I put my hand against the glass, feeling drawn to it. I noticed myself, and withdrew my hand, sticking it in my pocket instead. I read the plaque of information to try to learn more about it.

_**The Master Sword**_

_The Master Sword, often referred to in ancient mythology as the Blade of Evil's Bane is presumed to have been forged sometime in the 1st Century. It is often the weapon wielded by the Heroes of legend, the only ones able to wield the sword due to being pure in heart. The sword played an integral role in many myths, and was likely created to lend more credibility to them. Having something tangible likely made the superstitious Hyruleans of old feel safer from evil._

_The sword was excavated during a dig north of Kakariko. It was found resting in the remnants of an old temple, which was believed to be where the Hylians worshiped their Goddesses._

"Blade of Evil's Bane, huh?" I murmured. I wondered if this sword was featured in the story Zelda had found through her dream, about the Gerudo usurper.

Reluctantly, I left the sword behind, moving lazily through some other exhibits before finally reaching the stones. All three were displayed in the same glass case, each on its own stand on a small pedestal. The first was the green stone, the second was a red one, and the third was blue. All of them were held in some kind of gold in various designs.

I started reading about them. The green one was the Kokiri Emerald, which, as the name would suggest, was said to belong to a long-extinct people who lived in the Kokiri Forest. It was found in a dig in that forest, along with some of the Kokiri's tools and dishes.

The second belonged to the Gorons, and was called the Goron's Ruby. The Goron's were still around, even though they stayed up on Death Mountain for the most part, withdrawn from the Hylians. They'd gifted the Ruby to the museum, but only for awhile. By the end of November, it'd be back up with the Gorons in their mountain city.

The third was the property of the Zoras, but they, too, loaned the Sapphire out to the museum to complete the display.

The information said all of the stones were sacred to the ancient Hyruleans, and that they were needed to open the way into the Sacred Realm, along with the Royal Family's heirloom, an ocarina. The myth went that the stones rested within an ancient temple, possibly the one that was found in ruins with the Master Sword, until they were returned to their respective owners.

I noticed someone standing near me suddenly, and looked up with my eyes, not moving my head. There was a woman, observing the stones. She was studying them really carefully. Her hair was a deep burgundy color, and her skin was very tan. Her amber eyes stood out the most though. She was definitely a Gerudo. A phone was at her ear, and she nodded her head lazily, eyes rolling. "Yeah, yeah, I know,'Heads are gonna roll'." She muttered something in her native tongue. "The fool always says shit like that. But you know we can pull it of..." Her eyes found mine, and she crinkled her nose up, like she just saw something gross."What're you looking at?"

"Huh? Sorry..." I mumbled, returning my attention to the stones.

"Nah just some stupid kid..." she said into the phone.

I decided it was a good time to leave.


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you to those who have read or reviewed this story.

Full Circle

Eight

"You just become more and more stupid as the days go by, you know," Sheik muttered irritably as he manipulated the lock on the door in the back side of the museum.

"I'm really, really sorry," I replied in a hushed voice. I really did feel bad about leaving all of my sports equipment-baseball bat, glove, uniform, cleats, and helmet-in the museum that afternoon. I'd forgotten about it until I went over my end-of-the-day checklist that evening, and realised I'd need it for practise tomorrow. If it had been any other day, I could've just left earlier to stop by the museum and pick the gear up. But fate would have it that I left the stuff there on a Saturday, and the place was closed on Sundays. So I had to beg Sheik to get me into the place so I could get my stuff back.

I knew it was risky, and I felt pretty bad about it, but after some cajoling, he agreed to do it. The kid is ridiculously sneaky. He walks quiet as a cat, and seems to be able to make himself disappear when he needs it. I, on the other hand, am more like an ox-barreling in horns first, and always getting everyone's attention.

Sheik pushed the door open silently, slipping inside and glancing around. "We're near some clay pots and tools...Where did you leave your bag?" he asked. I closed the door quietly behind me.

"Near the weapons, I'll show you."

I've never really thought about it, but it must be a universal law of physics that everything becomes at least ten times creepier at night. The wax figures leered at us, as if ready to shout our trespassing to the world. They looked way too real. The stuffed beasts were pretty bad, too, turning from harmless inanimate critters with their mouths agape to feral monsters baring their fangs or claws. It was unsettling.

We finally reached the weapons exhibit, which was on the exact opposite end from where we entered the building. "There it is!" I whispered excitedly as I pointed to the bag left under the bench. Hopefully no one stole anything out of it. I dropped to my knees, pulling the bag out and looking through it. Sheik waited, arms crossed and eyes darting all over the area. He looked uneasy under all of that annoyance. "I've got everything, we can get out of here, now," I said, hoping that would make him feel better.

"Do you hear them?" he said suddenly.

My stomach dropped, heart pumping adrenaline. "Hear who?" I asked shakily. I'm not a coward or anything. But the prospect of being found breaking and entering here was pretty terrifying.

"I don't know. Women," Sheik answered, dropping down to a crouch in front of the sword exhibits. He pressed himself back against it, glancing around the corner down the hallway. "The accents, they sound like Gerudos."

I heard footsteps before I heard the voices, and I dropped down next to Sheik. "This place isn't run by Gerudos...What could they be doing here?" I wondered.

"They've stopped midway down the corridor," Sheik reported quietly. "They've got two bags with them."

"You don't think..." I started, letting my sentence hang in the air while we listened quietly to the women's voices float down the hall to us. They were speaking in their own language, and neither of us could understand it. Then, they were quiet. The silence seemed to last forever until a quick, brief screech cut through the air, making me jump. "What was that?" I whispered.

Sheik glanced around the display case again, then turned back towards me quickly. "They're cutting the glass on one of the displays."

"They're stealing something?" I whispered. "We have to stop them, Sheik."

"And risk being caught ourselves? And what if they've got weapons?" he challenged.

"Well, we can't sit by and let them steal priceless artifacts!" I hissed.

"Who's down there!"

The shout echoed down the hall, causing us both to flatten ourselves against the base of the display case as much as possible. I held my breath, trying not to make any noise in the tense silence. Whisperes in Gerudo, then quiet footsteps, as if someone was walking on the tips of their toes, made their way towards our hiding place.

I felt my heart begin to race, and I searched everywhere for another place to hide. The main desk near the front entrance was the closest place. I nodded towards it, tugging on Sheik's sleeve. We crawled to the desk as quick as possible, hearing the footsteps getting closer. Finally, I stood to a crouch, and jumped to the desk, Sheik right on my heels. We slipped beside the curved desk, hidden from the pursuer's view.

"Hey, there's no one over here!" she called back to the rest of her group.

I strained my ear to hear the reply, but was distracted by a gasp as Sheik suddenly disappeared from my side, being dragged up by someone I couldn't see.

"Just who the hell do you think you are?" I heard a women cry out angrily.

"I'd be much better suited to answer that question if there weren't a gun pointed at my face," he replied.  
A gun? Shit! I racked my brain, thinking of how to help him without getting him killed. I clutched my bag tightly, cursing myself for ever leaving it here and getting the two of us into this mess to begin with. I leaned forward just enough to see Sheik standing against the wall, the woman pointing a gun right at his nose, her free hand on his chest as if to hold him there.

"Oh, a smart ass, huh? Well, freak, we'll see how smart you are with your brain plastered to the wall in pieces!" I heard her cock the hammer and my stomach dropped. Almost as if the idea had been planted in my head by outside forces, I unzipped my gear bag, and pulled my bat out, jumping to my feet, and swinging as hard as I could at her hand. She screamed, cradling her likely broken hand, and dropped the gun with a clatter.

Sheik bolted, heading towards the front door along with me. He dropped to one knee, trying to work the lock with one hand before the other women caught us. I could already hear them shouting and barreling down the hall. "This isn't going to work," Sheik whispered shakily, withdrawing his hands. "This isn't the same sort of lock, I can't force these out." He indicated the large metal slats that slid into their place in the frame of the door.

I turned just in time to see three other Gerudo women turning the corner. "We're dead," I whispered, gripping my bat tightly. "There's only one way out."

Sheik sprang up to his feet. "We can't stay here, we'll be dead for sure. We have to at least try to get out. Start running and don't look back," he said, and took off down the hall towards the approaching women. I gritted my teeth, and did the same.

I heard gunshots. I didn't feel anything hit me, and I hoped Sheik didn't either. I took another swing with my bat at the first woman we approached. The other two reached for us, but we slipped out of their grip easily enough. The last two were still over by the glass case, extracting whatever it was that they were after. I saw light glinting off two large gems in an open duffel bag. The two women stopped, surprised to see us charging at them. I saw Sheik snatch up the duffel bag as he passed, causing the women to cry out in rage. More gunshots were fired at us, and I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard one his my bat.

Sheik stumbled ahead of me, and without slowing down, I hooked my arm around his, nearly dragging him the rest of the way. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly for a second before running on his own again. I got ahead of him this time, shoving the back door open, and slamming it shut once Sheik was out.

We both hauled ass around the side of the building. It was late, nearing midnight, and even though it was Saturday, there weren't a whole lot of places two teenagers could go to hide at this time of night. Quite frankly, I was terrified of the Gerudos tracking us down and killing us in our sleep. But we headed towards the orphanage, not stopping for a second. My legs burned, but I kept going. I could see the road we would have to turn on approaching.

Glancing behind me, I caught one last glimpse of the museum, and saw the group of Gerudo women lingering outside of it. They weren't chasing us anymore. "Sheik!" I managed to choke out, coming to a stop. "Sheik, they stopped."

He nearly fell to the ground as he stopped himself, leaning heavily against a wall. He dipped his head, eyes squeezed shut as he panted. "Great," he muttered. I noticed his left leg was bent at the knee, and all of his weight was on his right leg or against the wall.

"Are you okay?" I asked, approaching him. There was blood around a small hole in his jeans, around his calf.

He shoved the duffel bag into my arms. "Guard it with your life," he said. "We have to keep those safe until the museum opens up again."

"Why don't we just take it to the cops? It'll look a lot worse if we keep it," I replied hesitantly.

"Where do you think those women will think we'll take them first?"

I guess he was right about that. "But we can't keep them. We'll look like felons!"

"Link...we _are _felons. Just keep them. We'll sort it out on Monday," he said with a tone of finality that indicated I was not going to win this argument. I gripped the bag tightly, and hugged it to my chest the remainder of the walk home.


	9. Chapter 9

Nervous didn't even begin to describe how I felt the next morning.

The two stones-the Zora's Sapphire and the Kokiri Emerald-were hidden under Sheik's bed in our room. The local news stations had reported the break in and theft of all three stones that morning, and it wasn't too much longer after that until the Hyrulean News was running the story, too. And that wasn't even the worst part.

Apparently they were ready to release some security footage of two teenage males breaking into the museum through the back door. I'll give you three guesses as to who those two teens might be. Then, on top of _that_, there's still the possibility of those Gerudo women being on the lookout for us.

"We're in a lot of trouble, Sheik," I said, watching the news.

"Just give me a second to think," he said quietly, holding his head in his hands. "We could attempt to turn ourselves in. Explain ourselves. After all, once they see we only have two stones and that the third is still missing, they might believe us. It will also keep the stones away from the Gerudos."

"I wonder why they wanted them to begin with."

"To sell them, most likely. Private collectors would pay a fortune for these stones," he replied, standing to his feet. He still favoured his left leg. "We'll have to take the stones to the police. However, we would still have to admit to breaking into the museum to begin with to get your bag back."

"You have no idea how sorry I am," I admitted. I had felt overwhelmed with guilt, even before all of this stuff with the Gerudos had happened. I'd gotten him into so much trouble. It was already enough that people didn't like him based on his appearance, now they'd call him a criminal, too. It wasn't a big deal to me if they did the same to me, because I knew I was the one who'd gotten us into the mess to begin with. It wasn't fair to Sheik at all, though.

He merely shrugged in response. "It isn't-"

We both froze when we heard a knock on the door. For what felt like an eternity, we both just stared at each other, unmoving and silent, as if that would make the person on the other side of the door go away. Who would it be? Police? Gerudo thieves here to blow our brains out?

"Open the door, boys." A female voice. Vaguely familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. "You'll have no trouble from me if you comply." Whoever it was obviously knew what we'd done. But how? It must've been the police, or maybe someone with the museum, who'd seen the security tapes. There was still the possibility that it was the Gerudos, and they'd tracked us down.

"The window," Sheik mouthed. I nodded my head in agreement.

"Link? Please. We need to speak with you," another familiar voice said. It was Zelda, for sure. Sheik did a double take at the door, and I stood to my feet.

"We have to see what she wants," I whispered.

"She wants to have us arrested," Sheik hissed. "Don't!"

Too late. I'd unlocked the door and turned the knob. Two people stood there, neither one of them police or murdering thieves. Zelda, and her guardian, Impa. "Hi," I blurted out, unsure of what else to say.

"You have two of the sacred stones," Impa said, stepping inside. She seemed even more imposing in such a small room. Zelda followed behind her, and I closed the door again. "Get them, and bring them with us."

"With you? Where are we going?" I asked.

"We have to get you out of here before you get caught by either party that will be pursuing you," Impa said.

"How'd you know?" Sheik wondered. I reached under his bed to pull out the bag.

"It can be explained while we travel," Impa answered, taking the bag from me and reviewing the contents. She returned it to me, nodding. "Follow us." Sheik and I complied. The halls were pretty empty this early on a Sunday morning. We finally exited the building, stepping out into the clear, chilly morning air. "Get in," Impa ordered, unlocking her car. We both got into the back seats, while Zelda and Impa sat up front.

"I run the Department of Hyrulean Security," Impa said, starting up the car. "The second those stones were discovered to be stolen, I immediately reviewed all security tapes. I recognised you two. The tapes cut out shortly after you two entered the building. They didn't cut out until after you passed the exhibit housing the stones. Spent bullet casings were discovered near the ancient weapons display, as well as down the corridor near the stones. Neither of you were seen carrying guns, nor were there any security personnel present to fire any weapons."

"It was a group of Gerudo women," I said. "They had the guns. They fired on us. We were just there to get my baseball gear back. That's it, we swear it."

Impa smiled a little, nodding her head. "The bag was found and has been kept as crime scene evidence."

"I only took the stones to keep them away from those women," Sheik said. "He had nothing to do with it."

"Don't worry yourself," Zelda said. "I'm going to do my best to keep both out of harms way. However, you do realise there isn't much I can do about a video-taped breaking and entering?"

"Yes," we both replied in unison.

"Our main priority right now is keeping the stones safe," Impa explained. "Gerudos are well-known for their ruthlessness, and their pride. They will stop at nothing to get what they are after. Right now that happens to be the sacred stones, and very likely, your lives for ruining this for them."

"Great," I muttered.

"I suppose," Sheik said, "at least we kept those women from selling off priceless artifacts."

"They aren't going to sell them," Zelda replied quietly.

"What do you mean? What else would they do with them?" Sheik asked.

"The three stones are necessary to open the way to the Sacred Realm."

"You really believe they not only believe that there exists such a thing as the Sacred Realm and the Triforce, but that they are actually trying to find it?" Sheik questioned.

Zelda turned to face us both, and nodded. "Once they have the stones, they will come for this next." In her hands, she held a small, blue object. It was sort of egg shaped, with holes through the top surface.

"What is it?" I asked.

"This is the Ocarina of Time. The key to the Sacred Realm, and the heirloom of the Royal Family," she explained.

"I can't believe this," Sheik muttered, shaking his head and leaning against the window.

"They just saved us, Sheik. The least you could do is be grateful," I said, a little irritated at his behaviour.

"I'm grateful. Just not delusional," he replied.

"Mind yourself, Sheik," Impa hissed. "These are not delusions. All of this is based in historical fact. Dark times are approaching, and those strong enough to do so must do what they can to stop it."

I don't know how that woman had so much power over him, but she did. If I'd said something like that, he'd point out that the Sacred Realm was 'just a myth', or that I was being 'melodramatic'. But she actually got him to stop protesting.

Suddenly, Zelda gasped, and held both of her hands over her mouth. All three of us looked to her, wondering what the problem was. I could see her eyes watering with tears. Impa abruptly slammed on the gas, sending the car speeding down the mostly empty highway.

"What? What happened?" I asked, confused.

"Shh!" Impa hissed, pointing to the radio. I strained my ears to hear it over the engine of the car.

"...recent developments of this shocking, shocking news. I, uh, this is a completely unexpected turn of events, and we as a nation have lost an incredibly kind and intelligent leader. Such a tragedy is unprecedented in my time reporting for this station and I...I'm just speechless."

"Shit," I whispered, hands shaking. The words coming out of the speakers just seemed so unreal. The King had been murdered. How could something like that even happen? "Zelda, I'm so sorry," I said quietly. I could see her shoulders shaking in front of me, but she'd covered her face with her hands.

Beside me, I heard Sheik whisper something to himself. "Dark times, indeed."


	10. Chapter 10

Everything was in chaos. The castle was frantic, guards tearing through every room, searching for the assailant. Two ambulances were in the driveway in front of the building, red lights flashing. There wasn't a whole lot that could be done about a bullet through the brain, I guess. I'd picked those bits of information up from hearing the EMTs conversations as we'd entered the building behind a furious Impa and a crying Zelda.

"Let no one leave the area, and let no one in," Impa ordered to the closest guard. "Make sure there are guards posted at every entrance, and that they are well armed. Search _every _room, closet, and bathroom. Leave no stone unturned. I want this person found!"

The man nodded and ran off to spread the word.

She took another man to the side, and said, "I want you to take these three to safehouse two. Protect the Princess at _all _costs."

"Yes ma'am." He glanced at the two of us. "Who-"

"Who they are is not important. Every second you stand here questioning me unnecessarily is another second passed that could've been spent keeping the Princess safe. Now go!" Impa ordered.

"Right! Follow me, your highness," the man said. He indicated for us to do the same. I looked over at Zelda. Her eyes were still red from crying, but I could tell she was trying hard to stay composed. She still clutched the blue ocarina in both hands.

We were shuffled into yet another car.

"Where are you taking us?" Sheik asked.

"That's classified information," the man replied. "Just try to keep calm." He started the car and tore off down the long driveway that dumped us out onto the main street of Castle Town. There was a little more traffic on the road now that the day was progressing. I wondered how many people had heard the news. How many people were just now hearing it.

The man took an exit ramp onto the main highway that circulated throughout all of Hyrule. We were heading east, according to the signs. Unless the guy was taking a roundabout route for some reason.

Just a few days ago, we'd both been pretty normal kids with average lives. Now we were involved in some terrible theft and a plot to find a mystical force that no one believes exists, riding in the back seat of the Princess of Hyrule's getaway car. It's amazing how much things can change so quickly.

Suddenly, there was a whizzing sort of noise as something small flew through that back window. "Shit!" the driver exclaimed, swerving into the right lane. All of us turned around to see a small hole in the glass, and a black car with tinted windows that was way too close to us. A woman with flaming red hair and amber eyes was lining up another shot. "Get down!" the driver shouted. No one argued with that.

More bullets pelted the back window. The driver tired to speed up, but I guess they were still on top of us. I couldn't exactly get up to look. The man gave a strangled scream that degenerated into a sickening gargle as a bullet sank into his neck. His eyes were wide, and blood began to dribble from the wound and his mouth. I heard Zelda scream. Another bullet hit the man in the back of his head, and blood began to pour out of his face. The car swerved madly. His foot was still on the gas but his hands weren't on the wheel. There was a terrible crunching sound as the car slammed into another vehicle. I was thrown forward against Zelda's seat.

"Back here!" I heard Sheik shout. His hand reached for Zelda's, pulling her into the back seat with us. He crawled up front to take her place.

"What are you doing?!" I cried as he started moving the driver's body.

"This'll be us if we don't keep moving," he replied.

"You could be killed!" Zelda protested as Sheik took the driver's seat.

"'Could'. It's just one of several possibilities right now, but you will definitely be shot if we don't keep moving. Impa told us to protect you at all costs," Sheik said.

"You've never even driven a car before!" I shouted, trying to stop him.

"Now is as good a time to learn as ever, I suppose." He put his foot down, and huffed. Then, he slammed his foot down again, throwing Zelda and I back against the seats. "So _that _one is the accelerator." Too much was going on at once. The gunshots, the speeding car, the wreck, the dead man in the front seat. All of it raced through my head over and over again as I failed to keep hold of the information.

More bullets rained on the car. I braced myself against the front seat, gritting my teeth, praying to whatever gods or goddesses there might be to keep us all alive. Zelda and I were thrown against the right side of the car as Sheik took a hard left. I would swear that we were on two wheels. I heard horns blaring. I worked up the courage to raise my head high enough to look out the window to see what was happening, and was met with the sight of three lanes of oncoming traffic.

"What the hell are you doing Sheik?!" I screamed, eyes widening as the cars got closer and closer.

"Don't distract the driver," he chided, ignoring my question.

I squeezed my eyes shut as we passed between two speeding cars that were both blaring their horns. I heard tires squealing, people shouting and screaming. "I thought you were trying to keep us alive!" Zelda cried out.

We were tossed all over the place as the car suddenly drove off the road, running through the grass and dirt of the fields. The gunshots, had stopped at least. "I think it is safe to sit up now," Sheik said.

I looked at the back window again. It was dotted with tiny holes and even tinier cracks. I expected it to shatter any second, especially considering all of the bumps and rough land we were driving over. "Where are we going?" I asked. The highway was receding fast, and there weren't any cars behind us.

He shrugged. "The cities are likely unsafe," he reasoned. "Princess, do you know where this 'safehouse' is?"

"No," she replied quietly. She looked pretty disheveled. Her eyes were wide, but in a blank sort of way.  
"We have to find a way to contact Impa," Sheik insisted. "She will know what to do."

I nodded in agreement, and took one last look out the window at the quickly disappearing highway, and said good bye to any last traces of normality my life had.


End file.
